


when i dream, i think of you

by kihyuks



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Asexual Character, Cabins, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Roommates, mentions of alcohol and drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-10-27 16:01:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17769872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kihyuks/pseuds/kihyuks
Summary: kihyun needs a fake boyfriend and minhyuk offers to help. somewhere along the way, kihyun falls in love with minhyuk, his fake boyfriend, and hyungwon, minhyuk's real boyfriend.





	when i dream, i think of you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hyunguuon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyunguuon/gifts).



> to chloé: HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY N HAPPY VALENTINES DAY I LOVE U LOADS N LOADS N I HOPE U ENJOY (also, surprise, i'd already finished when you asked me about posting but i wanted it to be a surprise when it went up hehe)
> 
> this fic has been in the works since september? maybe? n i'm so glad i'm finally done with it. it's been a wild ride writing this

Throughout his life, Kihyun has often been told that he’s too stubborn. His mum told him it when he refused to move from the sofa for seven hours when his brother said there’s no way he could watch TV for at least eight hours straight without moving (he broke at hour seven when he really needed to pee). Minhyuk told him it after Changkyun told him he’d never pull off a dress so for the next week Kihyun wore various dresses until Changkyun gave in and told him he had been wrong and Kihyun can _definitely_ pull off a dress. Kihyun, though, likes to disagree (he’s only the perfect amount of stubborn, thank you very much) but after getting himself into a certain predicament, he realises that maybe everyone has been right all along because now he’s potentially $150 down all because he’s too stubborn to turn down a challenge.

Bets with Changkyun and Jooheon were never good. He knew this, but he still couldn’t help himself when he’d asked, “Okay, what’s the bet?” He knew it was only going to cause trouble for him, but his curiosity got the best of him. Now he was facing the consequences.

The glint in Changkyun’s eyes told him that he was right, he’d made a mistake asking. “I bet you can’t get a boyfriend within a month.”

Changkyun looked so confident, like he really believed Kihyun wouldn’t be able to get a boyfriend and it irked Kihyun, enough so that he agreed to the bet. “That’s simple. How much?”

“$150,” Jooheon had said, finally speaking up.

It’s a lot of money. A lot of money that he definitely didn’t have to waste on a bet, but there was no way that Kihyun could back down. He was confident and to back down on simply finding himself a boyfriend? Kihyun would never be so weak. He’d stuck his hand out and made Changkyun shake on it. How hard could it really be to find a boyfriend in a month, anyway?

Three weeks later and Kihyun has discovered that it’s far harder than he’d anticipated. He has tried to find a boyfriend, he even set up a dating profile, but after the first bad pickup line got sent his way he deleted the app and vowed to never do that again.

He groans, rolling over on the sofa bury his face in one of the cushions. His roommates, Hyungwon and Minhyuk, aren’t home right now, so he can wallow in his misery in peace. He wonders if he sits here and hopes hard enough, a boy will appear at his door and offer to fake date him long enough that Changkyun and Jooheon believe it’s real before they can fake a break up. It’s not too unrealistic, other than the fact he has no one who he could ask to help.

“What are you thinking about?” he hears from the door, making him jump. He peeks over the back of the sofa to see Minhyuk standing there holding bags full of groceries.

Kihyun contemplates for a moment as to whether he should tell Minhyuk about the bet. Deciding that if anyone can come up with a plan to save Kihyun’s pride and his $150 it’s Minhyuk, Kihyun tells him about the bet.

After hearing all the details, Minhyuk hums, thinking about what to do. “You’ve got yourself in quite the situation there.” He joins Kihyun on the sofa, plopping his feet onto Kihyun’s lap without asking. “If you go halves on the money I’ll be your fake boyfriend,” he offers.

That’s the last thing Kihyun’s expecting to hear and if he had been drinking at the moment Minhyuk said those words he for sure would have choked on it. “You’re dating Hyungwon,” Kihyun states.

Hyungwon and Minhyuk haven’t been dating for long, but Kihyun is the only person in their friend group who knows about it and he only found out because they’re roommates. They decided to see how their relationship develops just with themselves before announcing it to other people, but Kihyun lives with them so he was bound to find out eventually.

“Changkyun and Jooheon don’t know that. Besides, if I spend some of the money on Hyungwon he won’t care.”

Kihyun considers it. It’s not like it’d be hard to pretend to date Minhyuk, they were already touchy with each other anyway and Changkyun had even asked Kihyun when they first met whether he was dating Minhyuk. It’d also be a lot easier than trying to find a stranger as Minhyuk is his best friend after all. After thinking through everything, Kihyun says, “As long as it’s okay with Hyungwon I’ll do it.”

Conveniently, Hyungwon chooses this moment to arrive back home from his lectures. “As long as what’s okay with me?” he asks, eyeing Kihyun suspiciously.

“Kihyun and I are going to fake date to scam Jooheon and Changkyun out of $150.” Minhyuk sure knew how to put things as bluntly as possible.

Hyungwon looks confused for a second before he waves a hand dismissively, says, “Do what you want,” and promptly flops down onto his bed to take a nap. 

Kihyun stares at him. That went way easier than expected. He feels like everything has gone too smoothly and there’s no way that it’ll last the way it’s gone so far. Kihyun knows his luck isn’t that good.

 

* * *

 

“You’re not dating Minhyuk.”

As expected, things start going wrong as soon as Kihyun told Jooheon and Changkyun that he’s dating Minhyuk. At first, he’s not sure why it seems so unrealistic to them, then he remembers telling Changkyun he would “never date Minhyuk in a million years” and realises this might be harder than he originally thought. “Of course I’m dating Minhyuk. Why would I lie about it?”

“So you can get the money from us,” Changkyun states.

Well, he’s not wrong, but Kihyun can’t let him know that.

Before Kihyun can think up a reply, he hears a, “Hey, babe,” from next to him and then suddenly there’s someone sitting in his lap. Right, Minhyuk likes to sit in unconventional places. It’s usually Hyungwon’s lap, but now that he’s Kihyun’s fake boyfriend Kihyun guesses he’s going to experience it a lot more often. Before Kihyun can even properly react to the presence of Minhyuk, there’s a kiss planted on his lips. He’s too shocked to kiss back and instead just stares blankly at Minhyuk when he pulls away. Minhyuk winks at him before turning to look at Changkyun and Jooheon.

“So, what are we talking about?” Minhyuk asks.

Silently, Changkyun pulls a stack of bills from out of his wallet and hands them over to Kihyun.

Minhyuk eyes Changkyun suspiciously before he turns to Kihyun and, making sure it’s loud enough for the others to hear, stage whispers, “Did you convince Changkyun to be your sugar daddy like we talked about?”

Jooheon chokes on the food he’s eating and Changkyun has to smack his back to try and stop him from completely choking on it.

Kihyun is embarrassed. More embarrassed than he thinks he’s ever been before. Minhyuk seems to enjoy embarrassing Kihyun, though. He’s sure that now they’re pretending to date Minhyuk is going to take every opportunity he can to embarrass Kihyun. Subtly, he pinches Minhyuk’s side in revenge, making sure to do it as hard as possible. Minhyuk doesn’t flinch but from the angle Kihyun is sitting he can see on Minhyuk’s face that he felt it. He smirks, proud of himself for getting him back.

Turning back to look at Changkyun and Jooheon (who’s now recovered from choking), he says, “He’s joking. We don’t discuss sugar daddies together.”

“Babe, it’s okay, I’m sure they discuss sugar daddies together, too.”

Changkyun laughs but Jooheon starts to blush. Kihyun wonders if Minhyuk knows more than he lets on sometimes.

“Anyway,” Kihyun says loudly, “as lovely as this conversation is I have things to do and places to be. Let’s go, Min.” He pushes Minhyuk up off his lap then grabs his hand and drags him away forcefully, making sure not to look back. He doesn’t want to see either of his friends’ faces right now.

Once they’re out of view of Jooheon and Changkyun, Kihyun drops Minhyuk’s hand and turns to look at him. “Why do you live to embarrass me?”

Minhyuk smirks. “You’re fun to tease, Kihyunnie.”

Groaning, Kihyun runs a hand down his face. “This was a mistake. Dating you is a mistake. I feel so sorry for Hyungwon.” 

“A mistake that made you $75 richer.”

 

* * *

 

Changkyun likes to invite himself over to places. He also likes to turn up unannounced.

Turning up without a previous warning at 7am on a Saturday morning is something he’s never done before now, but Kihyun knows there’s a first time for everything when it comes to Changkyun.

Kihyun is only wearing the underwear he went to sleep in, but being woken up by someone banging on his door hadn’t left him with much choice than to just open it. He’s greeted by Changkyun’s smiling face and it takes everything in him not to slam the door and go back to bed.

“Why?” Kihyun is always a man of many words when he gets woken up early on a weekend.

Changkyun shoves past him and lets himself into the flat. It wouldn’t have been too much of a problem, but Kihyun’s pretty sure he saw Hyungwon and Minhyuk cuddling in Minhyuk’s bed and Kihyun’s worried Changkyun will question the legitimacy of his relationship with Minhyuk and ask for the money back. Money which Kihyun has already spent by now. Luckily for Kihyun, Changkyun heads straight into the kitchen, completely ignoring the sleeping bodies. “You have nicer tea,” is what Changkyun finally says after he puts the kettle on to boil.

Kihyun is standing in the doorway to the kitchen and stares back longingly at his bed. He knows even if he tries to sleep more now that he won’t be able to. He can never get back to sleep once he’s woken up. With a sigh, he accepts that he’s going to have to deal with Changkyun (and at 7am. It’s practically torture) and drops himself into one of the seats at the table.

“I have an important event planned.” Kihyun knew Changkyun had another reason other than just the tea to turn up at a ridiculous time. “We’re all going to a cabin together for some bonding over the break that’s coming up soon.”

“Who’s we?” Kihyun asks.

“Me, you, Jooheon, Minhyuk, Hyungwon, Hoseok and Hyunwoo. Family bonding time.”

Kihyun’s first instinct is to turn down the offer with the excuse of university work to do but he knows he’s almost finished with his work and most likely won’t get too much for over the break. It’d also be nice to spend some time with his friends without having to worry about university for once. “Sure, I’m in.”

Changkyun looks shocked, but it makes sense as Kihyun isn’t one to agree to plans straight away. “That was far easier than expected.” He grabs the kettle that’s now boiled and pours it into a mug with a tea bag.

There’s a loud yawn from the doorway and Minhyuk comes stumbling in. His eyes are closed but he rubs them to try and wake himself up. He staggers over to where Kihyun is sitting at the table before dropping into the seat next to him and wrapping his arms around Kihyun’s middle. He cuddles into Kihyun’s side and mutters, “Morning, baby.”

Changkyun coughs from the other side of the room and Minhyuk’s head shoots up. “When did you get here?”

“Not too long ago. I came over to invite you guys to the cabin for a week.”

Minhyuk hums affirmatively. “I’ll come.”

Throughout their exchange Kihyun hasn’t said a word, but he can’t help but stare at Minhyuk strangely. He seemed genuinely shocked that Changkyun was there, but Kihyun had thought he’d come over to cuddle up to him to show off to Changkyun and make their relationship look more real. Either Minhyuk is a lot better actor than Kihyun thought he was (which doesn’t seem likely considering how he was barely awake) or he’s decided he’s going to act weirdly affectionate to Kihyun from now on. It’s not like he wasn’t affectionate before, Minhyuk is a very affectionate person and always seems to be touching Kihyun and his other friends in some way or another, but this was more like something he’d do to Hyungwon, his actual boyfriend, rather than Kihyun, his fake boyfriend.

Kihyun decides to just let it go. Minhyuk’s tired, he probably wasn’t thinking properly. He knows Minhyuk loves people playing with his hair, so he ruffles it and then fiddles with the strands. Minhyuk looks up at him and smiles softly so Kihyun smiles back.

“I feel like I’m interrupting something,” Changkyun says and both Kihyun and Minhyuk’s heads shoot up to look at him. Kihyun had forgotten he was even there, honestly.

“Sorry,” Minhyuk mutters and tries to shuffle away from Kihyun slightly. Kihyun doesn’t let him, though. He pulls Minhyuk in closer because he knows Minhyuk’s starting to worry about being too affectionate.

Changkyun looks guilty for his comment. “I didn’t mean it like that, Minhyuk. You guys are really cute.”

“Thanks, Changkyun.” Kihyun can’t help but feel guilty for basically scamming Changkyun out of his money when he’s being so nice to the two of them.

There’s a thump in the other room and a few seconds later Hyungwon appears in the doorway. He looks at Kihyun and Minhyuk basically cuddling at the table (well, as best as two people can while sitting on chairs), shrugs then turns to look at Changkyun. “Good morning. Can I have that?” He points to the mug of tea which Changkyun had made but not actually started drinking.

“Sure.” Changkyun hands him the mug and Hyungwon takes it with a grateful smile. “Did you fall out of bed?”

Hyungwon nods. “I thought Minhyuk would be there, but I rolled over and fell out.”

Changkyun’s eyebrows scrunch together. “Why would Minhyuk be in your bed?”

Kihyun sees the panic on Hyungwon’s face as he tries to think of something to cover up his slip up. “Minhyuk moves too much in his sleep but he hates sleeping alone. Nothing wakes Hyungwon up, so I always wake up to find Minhyuk sleeping in Hyungwon’s bed,” Kihyun explains. It’s not completely a lie, Minhyuk does move a lot, but obviously that’s not the reason why they don’t share a bed.

“Huh. Makes sense.” Changkyun finally takes a seat at the table with them. “So, Hyungwon,” he starts, “want to come to a cabin with us?”

Hyungwon thinks about it for a moment. “Can I have my own room?”

“If you want. We have four rooms, so you can have one alone, the two lovebirds can share one, Jooheon and I are obviously taking the master bedroom and I’m sure Hoseok and Hyunwoo wouldn’t mind sharing.”

Hyungwon looks pleased.

Kihyun, though, is slightly nervous now that he knows he’ll be sharing with Minhyuk. Sure, it makes sense, they _are_ supposedly dating now, but he can’t help but worry about it. They’re roommates, yes, but the one time they were forced to share a bed together Kihyun barely got any sleep and when he woke up in the morning he realised they’d been cuddling all night. Kihyun’s not sure he or his heart can handle an entire week of waking up to realise he’s been cuddling Minhyuk the entire night.

“Stop worrying. I can basically hear it,” Minhyuk whispers directly into Kihyun’s hear, quiet enough that the others can’t hear him. “I’ll take the floor if it bothers you.”

Kihyun moves back slightly so he can see Minhyuk’s face and shakes his head.

Minhyuk just stares, sighs, then pulls Kihyun back closer to him. 

Although he doesn’t want to worry about it, Kihyun knows it’s all that’s going to be on his mind until it comes around.

 

* * *

 

The library is one of Kihyun’s favourite places to be. He likes how quiet it is and how it’s so huge he can easily hide away if he wishes and be alone in peace.

He’s picked the perfect hideaway spot today. He’s on the top floor on a seat behind a bunch of shelves. Not many people know there’s seating back here. He’s never bumped into anyone here before, which is why he likes to pick this spot when he’s overwhelmed with university and wants to sit alone. Of course he loves his friends, but sometimes he just wants the silence. This is why it shocks him when he sees someone shuffle over to the sofa near him and curl up into a ball on it, presumably to nap.  

Kihyun watches them carefully, wondering if they’re going to ruin his safe space. They don’t make another sound and once Kihyun is sure they’re asleep he turns back to his book.

He gets through a fair number of pages before he sees the other person sit up and stretch. In doing so their hood falls down and Kihyun finally realises who it is. “Hyungwon?”

Hyungwon looks over. He looks dazed, probably because he’s just woken up, then gives a sleepy smile to Kihyun. “I didn’t see you there.”

“I always come up here,” Kihyun explains. “It’s quiet and I get to be alone for a bit. Being around the noise gets overwhelming sometimes.”

Hyungwon curls back up on the sofa but he keeps looking at Kihyun. “I feel the same. This is the perfect spot for a quick nap because no one will come to disturb you.”

Kihyun marks the page of his book and puts it down beside him. He doesn’t really have anything to say, but he’s content to just share the silence with Hyungwon.

Kihyun thinks Hyungwon has fallen asleep when he speaks up again, eyes closed. “I never took you for someone who likes isolation. You always seem to be around people.”

“I do like being around people, but sometimes I just want to be alone and appreciate the quiet, you know?”

Hyungwon hums in agreement then promptly falls asleep, light snores being the only thing that indicates it to Kihyun. 

He has a class to get to, so he grabs a piece of paper from his notebook and writes a quick note to Hyungwon, saying he enjoyed their little chat and he hopes they get to spend some time together again in their little quiet corner. He tucks it under Hyungwon’s hand carefully, making sure to be as quiet as possible. He knows he could’ve text him, but he’s not sure if Hyungwon’s phone is on silent or not and he doesn’t want to accidentally wake him.

“Sleep well, Hyungwon.”

 

* * *

 

The morning of the day of the trip down to the cabin, Kihyun is woken up by someone shaking him. He blinks his eyes, trying to get them to focus, and sees Hyungwon standing over him, looking as tired as Kihyun feels. “Help,” Hyungwon says, distressed.

“What?” Kihyun asks, sitting up and checking their flat wasn’t on fire or something. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d woken up to a fire. Hyungwon was not very good in the kitchen and Kihyun has since banned him from being in the kitchen without adult (read: Kihyun’s) supervision. There doesn’t seem to be anything immediately wrong, so he relaxes slightly.

“We have a packing crisis.”

It’s then that Kihyun spots Minhyuk sitting on a suitcase pouting.

Even though he’s not happy about his precious sleep time being taken away from him because Hyungwon and Minhyuk are children trapped in adult bodies who can’t care for themselves, he is also weak for Minhyuk’s pout (but really, who isn’t?) so he drags himself out of bed. There are clothes all over the floor, some of which he’s pretty sure are his, and an opened empty suitcase in the middle.

“Why didn’t you pack anytime before the morning we’re leaving?” Kihyun asks.

Hyungwon at least looks guilty about it. Minhyuk, however, doesn’t look the least bit guilty. He says, “You wouldn’t help unless it was last minute and I’m not good at packing.” Well, at least he’s honest.

“At least tell me what clothes you want and I’ll fold them for you.”

Minhyuk picks up the clothes he wants and chucks them into a pile next to Kihyun who then folds them and packs them away. Hyungwon watches while eating an ice cream. Where he found said ice cream and why he’s eating it so early in the morning Kihyun doesn’t know. He prefers not to question things sometimes.

After packing Minhyuk’s suitcase with mostly his own clothes but also clothes he’s stolen off both Kihyun and Hyungwon, Kihyun feels exhausted and lays down on the floor next to the suitcase. This prompts Minhyuk to then lay down on top of Kihyun, Hyungwon following soon after. Kihyun doesn’t have the energy to try and get them off so he just lays there and closes his eyes.

He’s not sure how much time passes before the front door swings open and Changkyun comes walking in. He pockets the key he’d used to open the door (when did he even get one cut?) and stares at the pile of people on the floor. Kihyun watches his face as he studies them before he’s joining the pile and laying down on top of Hyungwon.

“Why do you have a key to our flat?” Kihyun asks, struggling to speak as most of the air is being pushed out of him by the weight of the bodies.

Changkyun simply makes a noise and Kihyun isn’t sure how to interpret it, so he just lets it go. It’s better to just let Changkyun do what he wants most of the time without asking questions. It’s much better that way.

They lay silently in their pile for a while before Minhyuk whines and Hyungwon rolls off him, effectively throwing Changkyun to the floor. Changkyun doesn’t seem phased and just sits up and looks over to the remains of the pile which is Minhyuk snuggling into Kihyun’s back.

“Did you throw us off so you could have Kihyun to yourself?” Hyungwon asks. He doesn’t sound mad, simply curious, and Kihyun can’t help but wonder how he actually feels about the fake relationship between him and Minhyuk. Hyungwon and Minhyuk don’t act any differently than they used to, but Minhyuk does seem clingier with Kihyun too which makes sense due to them having to fake a relationship.

Minhyuk prods a finger into Kihyun’s side. “Your thinking is distracting me,” he mumbles, his face still pressed into Kihyun’s back.

“Distracting you from what?”

Minhyuk doesn’t answer and instead rolls off from Kihyun’s back and flops to the floor.

“Anyway, now the weird cuddling we all just experienced is over, I came to get you guys so we can leave for the cabin,” Changkyun says.

With a groan, Kihyun finally gets up off the floor and stretches. “Let’s go, then.”

Minhyuk pouts and sticks a hand in the air. Kihyun gives him a look but helps pull him up off the floor. Then, Changkyun does the exact same thing. Kihyun just shakes his head. “Don’t be lazy.”

“You can’t pick your boyfriend over the rest of us. That’s favouritism,” Changkyun whines but pushes himself up off the floor.

Kihyun looks over to Hyungwon who’s still sitting down. Hyungwon is still for a second before he sticks his hand out too. Kihyun, with no hesitation, grabs Hyungwon’s hand and pulls him up from the floor. “Guess Kihyun has two boyfriends now,” Hyungwon jokes. 

Everyone laughs, but Kihyun has to force it. He didn’t really consider it until Hyungwon said it, but he realises that maybe having two boyfriends would be nice. Too bad he doesn’t even have one. Pushing the thought out of his head, he grabs his suitcase that he’d packed days earlier and leaves the flat, ready to go and have a break at the cabin.

 

* * *

 

“Are we there yet?”

Kihyun is ready to strangle Changkyun and Jooheon. Considering the cabin was their idea and they knew how long the drive would take, the both of them have spent the whole trip so far whining about how long it’s taking and asking if they’ve arrived every few minutes. They’re literally like children.

Hyunwoo, who has the patience of a saint, replies, “Not yet, Jooheon.” Kihyun doesn’t know how Hyunwoo doesn’t want to kill the two of them yet.

They had to take two cars – Hyunwoo driving one and Hyungwon driving the other – and Kihyun had said he’d go with Hyunwoo thinking it’d be fine. Hyunwoo is always calm and Kihyun definitely feels safe in a car with him. What he hadn’t expected was for Changkyun and Jooheon to also decide they want to go with Hyunwoo, leaving Kihyun stuck in the car with them for hours.

At first it hadn’t been too bad. They’d been playing stupid games in the back of the car like I spy and then had gotten bored and moved onto singing along to the radio. That got boring too, inevitably, and they both started whining about how long the trip was taking.

Kihyun is really losing his patience. He sees Changkyun open his mouth about to speak in the mirror, but Kihyun’s phone rings and cuts him off. It’s Minhyuk so he answers. “Hey, Min,” he greets.

“We’re lost,” is Minhyuk’s reply. Kihyun turns and looks over his shoulder and yes, the car that was following them only moments ago is now gone.

“You’re lost,” Kihyun repeats dumbly. “How are you lost?” He can feel a headache coming on. An idiot-induced headache.

“I needed to pee.” Kihyun can hear the pout in Minhyuk’s voice even through the phone.

He takes a deep breath. In, then out. “What would you like me to do?”

“Oh, nothing. Hoseok’s already getting the directions up on his phone.”

He’s smirking. Kihyun _knows_ he’s smirking. He wants to go and slap the smirk right off of Minhyuk’s face. “You just want to make me suffer, don’t you?”

Minhyuk giggles and it’s all he needs to answer his question. “I’ll leave you now. Bye!”

“Bye. Love you,” Kihyun mutters and then promptly drops his phone. He didn’t mean to say that. They’re not actually dating. Sure, everyone in the car can hear him talking, but they know what he’s like with PDA and they know he prefers to keep things private, which includes telling Minhyuk he _loves_ him. It’s the stress getting to him. That has to be it. They’re best friends, anyway. Best friends can say they love each other. It’s not like Kihyun’s never actually told Minhyuk he loves him. (He hasn’t.)

“Kihyun, are you okay?” Hyunwoo asks and oh, right. There are people in the car with him and he’s freaking out. 

Kihyun nods mutely, picking up his phone from where it dropped. He has a text from Minhyuk. It’s just a heart. It’s not unlike Minhyuk to send him hearts. It’s fine. Kihyun is fine.

 

* * *

 

They finally arrive at the cabin about an hour later. Changkyun goes running out of the car screaming “I’m free, bitches!” and Kihyun can only hope they don’t have any neighbours.

The car with Hyungwon, Minhyuk and Hoseok arrives only minutes after their car did and Kihyun definitely isn’t ready to face Minhyuk yet, but he has to. It’s not a big deal, anyway. He just worries and overthinks. Kihyun knows he needs to work on it.

“That was a pleasant journey,” Hoseok says as he gets out of the car and stretches, obviously stiff from having sat down for hours.

Kihyun grunts.

“Baby, was it not so great for you?” Minhyuk immediately rushes over to Kihyun, side hugging him and rubbing his arm for comfort.

Kihyun wills away the blush. If he was in a relationship this would be normal, so he has to act like it’s normal and he’s not freaking out on the inside. “There were two children in the car,” he mutters grumpily.

“You should’ve come with us. It was a lot of fun.”

Kihyun really wishes he had. He’s definitely not sitting in a car with Changkyun nor Jooheon on the drive back. He can’t handle that again. “Hyungwon, can I come in your car on the way back?”

Hyungwon agrees easily.

With the return journey now sorted and Kihyun’s stress levels lowered a significant amount, he takes a hold of Minhyuk’s hand and pulls him towards the cabin.

All he wants to do right now is go lay down in bed for a while. Being woken up early to pack Minhyuk’s suitcase and then having to sit in a car listening to Changkyun and Jooheon for hours has exhausted him.

There are makeshift signs taped to all of the doors inside and Kihyun wonders how Changkyun (he’s assuming it’s Changkyun, anyway) found the time to put them all up. Minhyuk still in tow, Kihyun finds the door with their names on (there are too many poorly drawn hearts on it for Kihyun’s liking) and pushes the door open.

There’s a double bed. Of course it’s a double bed. Kihyun doesn’t know why he’s shocked, he should’ve expected this, but he turns nervously to Minhyuk anyway. He hopes Minhyuk can’t feel how much his hands are sweating from being nervous as they’re still holding hands. “I can take the floor,” Kihyun offers.

Minhyuk stares at Kihyun like he’s grown a second head. “I have no issue sharing a bed with you, Ki.”

Kihyun pulls Minhyuk further into the room and shuts the door gently. He doesn’t want anyone to overhear their conversation when walking past. “Are you sure?”

“Friends share beds all the time, dumbass.”

Kihyun knows that. He’s more than aware of that, he’s shared with many of his friends and had no issue, the only difference now is that ever since Kihyun and Minhyuk started fake dating Kihyun has been having some unwanted feelings and he wants to curb those before they can get any further. Getting a crush on your fake boyfriend who’s actually dating your other friend and who also happens to be your best friend is just a mess waiting to happen.

Accepting that there’s no getting out of sharing the bed, Kihyun says, “Don’t cuddle me. I know what you’re like,” and throws himself down on the bed ready to take a nap.

 

* * *

 

His nap doesn’t last very long before Jooheon is barging in and demanding that Kihyun comes and joins the others for “family bonding time”.

Being the second time someone has woken him up today, Kihyun definitely isn’t happy about it, and his bad mood is very obvious when he grumpily drops onto the floor in the living room beside Minhyuk.

They’ve formed a circle together on the living room floor. There’s piles and piles of food in the centre which Kihyun is more than happy to steal and eat himself. He deserves it for Jooheon waking him up. He grabs a pack of sweets and rips it open more aggressively than he should’ve.

Jooheon looks like he’s about to make a comment when Hyunwoo puts a hand on his knee and shakes his head. Kihyun pretends not to notice.

“So,” Changkyun starts, clapping his hands together to make sure he has everyone’s attention, “we’re going to play a game called let’s tell embarrassing stories about each other. Who’s in?”

Kihyun moves to get up and both Minhyuk and Hyungwon who are either side of him hold him down. Kihyun glares at the both of them, trying to shake them off him before giving up and accepting that he won’t be able to escape. At least he can snack on all the food.

No one properly answers Changkyun, but there are murmurs, so he takes that as a sign to go ahead with the ‘game’. “I’ll start. Jooheon cries over anime.”

“Dude!” Jooheon complains.

“That’s not even embarrassing. That’s just relatable,” Minhyuk comments.

Kihyun rolls his eyes. “Fucking weeb.”

Minhyuk pushes Kihyun, causing him to basically fall on Hyungwon. Hyungwon laughs and helps Kihyun to sit back up.

Kihyun puts a hand on Minhyuk’s thigh with a fake smile and then squeezes. Hard. He can see Minhyuk try and hide the pain on his face. Once Kihyun deems his revenge successful, he releases his hand and goes back to eating his sweets.

Everyone is staring at them and Kihyun wants to hide. Too bad there’s nowhere for him to hide.

“We were at a party once and there was a nice girl who we befriended who was hugging everyone goodbye. Minhyuk’s an idiot and assumed she was flirting with him and went, ‘I’m very gay’. She just replied, ‘Me too’ and walked off. It was the funniest thing ever,” Hyungwon says, trying to distract everyone away from Kihyun.

Minhyuk yells and leans over Kihyun to smack Hyungwon over the back of the head. “You said you wouldn’t tell anyone.” He pouts at Hyungwon.

“Well sike, bitch.”

Minhyuk looks like he’s about to strangle Hyungwon so Kihyun puts a hand on his shoulder and pushes him back into his seat. “Min, don’t,” he whispers.

Minhyuk relaxes immediately, but still glares at Hyungwon. He’s not attacking him, though, at least.

“Hey, Minhyuk,” Changkyun says, getting Minhyuk’s attention as well as everyone else in the room. “Tell us something embarrassing about Kihyun. I bet he cries during sex.”

Kihyun goes bright red and looks down. This is the last thing he needs right now. He can feel everyone’s eyes on him, but there’s only one pair that he knows are concerned right now. He knows that Minhyuk _knows_ but the others don’t. Finally, in almost a whisper, he speaks up, “We haven’t done… _that._ ” It’s not only because their relationship isn’t real, either. He’d be saying the same thing if it was.

“You don’t have to tell them. I can handle it,” he hears Minhyuk whisper.

Kihyun nods and pushes himself up from the floor. Minhyuk grabs his hand before he can turn to leave and squeezes it reassuringly.

Kihyun smiles down at his friend, and without another word leaves the room. He knows Minhyuk can handle talking to the others, and Kihyun just wants to be alone right now.

He drops onto his and Minhyuk’s bed and pulls his legs up to his chest. He wraps his arms around his knees and pulls tight, so he can make himself as small as possible.

He’s not alone for long before the door opens and Hyungwon slips in. He sits down on the other side of the bed, making sure to leave a decent amount of distance between them. “I wanted to see if you were okay,” he says quietly.

Kihyun’s not sure how much he knows, whether he heard Minhyuk’s explanation yet or not, so he stays quiet, waiting to see what else Hyungwon will say.

“You don’t have to talk to me about anything if you don’t want to. I don’t know what Minhyuk’s saying and I don’t know what exactly he’s going to say. I can guess, though, and that’s why I wanted to come and see how you’re feeling, because I get exactly how scary it can be.” Hyungwon places his hand lightly onto Kihyun’s shoulder.

Kihyun tenses for a moment before relaxing again.

Sensing that Kihyun isn’t going to speak but reassured by the fact that Kihyun didn’t shrug him off, Hyungwon continues. “I remember before Minhyuk and I started dating but when we sort of knew our feelings were mutual I decided I needed to tell him about being asexual. It was terrifying, because I thought he’d reject me. Realise I’m not good enough. Stupid thoughts like that. He didn’t, though, because it’s Minhyuk and he understands. And the others will understand, too.” He starts rubbing Kihyun’s arm to comfort him. “Changkyun always makes stupid comments, you know him, and you don’t have to feel bad about yourself because of it.”

Kihyun finally moves and rolls over so he can look at Hyungwon. “Thank you, Hyungwon. I’m glad you understand.” He sits up properly and leans over to give his friend a hug. It doesn’t last long, but it makes Kihyun feel a lot better. “Hey, at least we know now we don’t just share a boyfriend but also our sexuality,” Kihyun manages to joke.

Hyungwon grins, laughing. “We have a lot more in common than we thought.”

Kihyun nods. He’s suddenly overcome with exhaustion, a huge yawn escaping him. “I think I’m going to sleep.”

He lays himself down and shuts his eyes, still on top of the duvet because it’s too much effort to move so he’s under it.

“Are you sure you don’t want to get changed before you sleep?” Hyungwon asks, his voice further away than it was before.

Kihyun just grumbles unintelligibly. 

There’s the distinct sound of the door opening. A quiet, “Goodnight, Kihyun,” is the last thing Kihyun hears before he falls straight asleep.

 

* * *

 

Kihyun’s completely disoriented when he wakes up the next morning. It takes him longer than it should for him to register where he even is. It then takes him even longer to realise that he’s cuddling someone. Someone who can only be Minhyuk.

He can feel the panic rising but he also can’t really move without potentially waking Minhyuk up. He decides to stay still and wait it out until Minhyuk wakes up.

Minhyuk looks peaceful when he sleeps, Kihyun realises.

He’s studying Minhyuk’s face when he hears him mutter, “Morning, Kihyunnie.”

Kihyun averts his eyes and feels the heat rise to his cheeks. “Hi.”

Minhyuk rolls around so he can face Kihyun. “How did you sleep?” He asks. There’s a soft, content smile on his face and Kihyun can feel his heart rate pick up.

“Really well. What about you?”

Minhyuk hums affirmatively. He closes his eyes again and snuggles closer to Kihyun. “I love cuddles,” he whispers and then his breathing evens out and Kihyun realises he’s fallen back asleep.

Before Kihyun can start panicking again, there’s a quiet knock at the door and then it slowly creeps open. He sees pink hair and then Hyungwon is peeking through the crack. He looks like he’s barely awake, but when he sees Kihyun is also awake he perks up a bit.

“Morning.” Hyungwon yawns as he enters the room, keeping quiet as to not wake Minhyuk. He doesn’t make a comment or seem bothered about the fact that Kihyun is currently cuddling his boyfriend, instead he just climbs into the bed behind Kihyun, throws an arm over him and then promptly falls asleep. 

Great. Now Kihyun really is trapped.

 

* * *

 

Kihyun is woken up again by someone gently shaking him. He rubs his eyes and then they slowly come into focus on Hyungwon’s face, smiling down at him.

“How long did I sleep for?” he asks.

“Not sure,” Hyungwon replies. “I don’t even remember what time I came in to join you guys.”

Kihyun has no idea what time he originally work up, either. It’s not like he could’ve checked the time on his phone, anyway, with his arms being trapped by a sleeping Minhyuk. Speaking of Minhyuk, Kihyun notices he’s not in the room anymore. “Where’s Min?”

“Shower. Neither of us wanted to wake you because you look adorable when you’re sleeping so we did rock, paper, scissors to see who had to do it and who could shower first. I lost, obviously.”

Kihyun blushes. He isn’t used to compliments from people. Sure, he’s confident in himself and his looks, but hearing good things from other people was still embarrassing.

The door swings open and Minhyuk waltzes in with just a towel around his waist. “I’m back, bitches,” he announces.

“That wasn’t obvious by the slamming of the door against the wall,” Kihyun mutters sarcastically. “I think everyone’s aware you’re in the room now.”

Hyungwon laughs but tries to cover it with a cough when Minhyuk glares at him.

“You’re both mean,” he whines, pouting.

Hyungwon hurries over and plants a kiss on Minhyuk’s lips. “Still mean?”

Minhyuk glares for a second before giving in and kissing Hyungwon’s cheek in return. “The meanest.”

Kihyun feels like he’s intruding on something while watching the exchange. He feels awkward and tries to sneak out of the room, but Minhyuk notices and rushes over to him. He plants a sloppy kiss on Kihyun’s cheek. “One for you, too.” 

Kihyun hits him in retaliation and wipes his cheek clean, pretending he’s annoyed at Minhyuk. Really, though, he’s glad that Minhyuk tried to make him a part of everything again.

 

* * *

 

“I want pancakes,” Changkyun whines, pouting at Kihyun.

Kihyun stares blankly at him. He said he was going to make them all waffles and Changkyun has been whining about how he wants pancakes instead ever since. “I don’t care. We’re having waffles.”

Minhyuk walks into the room and grins. “I love waffles.”

Hyungwon follows soon after and takes the seat next to Changkyun while Minhyuk sits opposite. “I don’t know. Pancakes are better,” Hyungwon comments. 

“See! Hyungwon agrees.”

Kihyun sighs. Changkyun is too much in the mornings. Actually, Changkyun is too much at all times of the day. “I already said I’m making waffles.”

The pout returns to Changkyun’s face.

“Stop pouting at me. I’m immune to it.”

Changkyun pokes Hyungwon in the side which prompts Hyungwon to start pouting too.

Kihyun is not weak and he will not give in to his fake boyfriend’s real boyfriend. He holds Hyungwon’s stare, refusing to back down.

Hyungwon somehow manages to pout harder.

Maybe Kihyun is a bit weaker than he thought. “Ugh, fine, I’ll make pancakes and waffles. Can you all shut up now.”

With a shit-eating grin on his face, Changkyun says, “No one even said anything.”

“I said shut up. Don’t make me change my mine and only make waffles.” 

Changkyun instantly shuts his mouth.

 

* * *

 

After eating more pancakes and waffles than anyone should consume, their group of friends heads outside to sit by the lake. Sitting by the lake, of course, turns into swimming in the lake (Jooheon’s brilliant idea).

Kihyun doesn’t want to go swim in the dirty water. He’d only just showered a few hours before, so instead he takes out his camera and snaps some photos of his friends enjoying themselves. Even though he’s not directly part of their fun, he feels happy seeing all his friends smiling and laughing. He also manages to get some good blackmail shots of their reactions to being splashed in the face with water (unsurprisingly caused by Changkyun.)

Not long later, Hyungwon climbs out of the lake and plops onto the grass beside Kihyun. “Don’t sit too close,” Kihyun complains, “I don’t want your gross dirty lake water on me.”

Hyungwon shakes his head, flicking the water from his hair all over Kihyun. Kihyun is really not impressed and smacks Hyungwon on the arm, slightly harder than he usually would. He deserves it, though. He got dirty water on Kihyun’s precious camera.

“Can I see the photos?” Hyungwon asks after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

Always happy to share his work, Kihyun nods and passes his camera over to Hyungwon, making sure his hands were dry enough first, of course.

As Hyungwon flicks through all the photos, Kihyun watches his friends still messing around. He laughs as Changkyun jumps and grabs onto Hyunwoo.

Hyungwon’s been looking for a while when he asks, “When did you take this?” He turns the screen to face Kihyun, revealing a photo of Minhyuk and Hyungwon laughing together. Kihyun forgot he’d even taken that photo. 

“I don’t remember exactly when. I take a lot of photos.” Kihyun can only hope Hyungwon hasn’t looked through too many photos because Kihyun knows there’s far more photos of both him and Minhyuk on his camera than there should be.

“I never noticed how often you take photos.”

Kihyun doesn’t reply. He keeps staring straight ahead, watching Jooheon and Minhyuk splash water into each other’s faces.

Hyungwon puts the camera down on the grass between them. He doesn’t speak so Kihyun turns to look at him. Hyungwon isn’t looking back, he’s staring straight ahead, a soft smile on his face.

They return to the comfortable silence, the only sound being the screams, yells and laughter coming from the direction of the lake.

Eventually, the others decide to finally get out of the water and dry off. Changkyun’s shivering and Kihyun tuts and wraps a spare towel around him. Kihyun knew they’d all be cold when they finally got out of the water so when they’d all been distracted he’d snuck back inside and grabbed enough towels for all of them. 

Kihyun looks around the group of them. Everyone seems happy and relaxed and Kihyun is glad. He wasn't sure whether going to the cabin together would actually be good or not for their friendship, but it turns out it has been, ignoring the minor awkward hiccup from the night before. Having some time to relax and just enjoy their time together without worrying about deadlines and exams and everything.

 

* * *

 

Kihyun knew that at some point the alcohol had to come out. It's not like Changkyun would ever go anywhere with all of them and not bring alcohol with him. There are more bottles than Kihyun thinks the seven of them could possibly get through in a week let alone in one night, but he decides not to make a comment. It's not like he won't be drinking some, anyway.

"So, spin the bottle?" Jooheon suggests.

Hyungwon stares blankly at Jooheon. "How is that going to work with two couples in the room?"

"You all have permission to kiss my boyfriend," Changkyun announces, grinning.

Kihyun resists the urge to facepalm.

"It's all for fun, right?" Jooheon says. He turns to face Minhyuk and Kihyun. "Are you guys up for it?"

Kihyun turns to look at Hyungwon, who gives him a small nod. "I don't mind, but also when did we become teenage girls?"

"I'll be your teenage girl, baby." Minhyuk exaggeratedly winks.

Kihyun gags. "That's disgusting. Also, I'm gay?"

There's a shocked gasp from Changkyun. "You're _gay_?"

All Kihyun can go is groan. "You're all the worst. I hate you all."

"Except me," Hyungwon comments.

"Yeah," Kihyun agrees easily.

Changkyun claps to get everyone's attention. "We need to empty a bottle. Who's up for helping me finish it?" 

"Hand it to me. I need it to get through this," Kihyun says and Changkyun reaches over and hands him the bottle.

 

* * *

 

After they've managed to finish the bottle, Jooheon decides he doesn't actually want to play spin the bottle (and Kihyun couldn't be more thankful, really) and suggests they play never have I ever instead. It's still a stupid game, but Kihyun feels like he can't be embarrassed too badly this time.

Hyunwoo pours out shots for everyone as Changkyun's had far too much already and can't manage to pour them properly himself and then he starts. "Never have I ever cheated on a test," he says. Unsurprisingly, all of them except Hyunwoo and Hoseok drink.

"I'm disappointed in all of you," Hoseok mutters.

The next few questions are all fairly easy and not too embarrassing. That is, until it gets around to Jooheon. "Hm, let me think." He scratches his chin, pretending to be deep in thought and it makes Kihyun nervous for what he's about to say. "Never have I ever kissed one of my best friends."

Kihyun glares at Jooheon as he downs his shot. He'd told Jooheon about _that_ mistake years earlier but had never told Jooheon who it was, and for a good reason.

Jooheon looks around the room and then his eyes go wide when they land on Changkyun next to him who's just downed a shot himself. "What the fuck?"

There are lots of confused eyes on both Kihyun and Changkyun and Kihyun honestly wants to cry. "I had a crush on Changkyun and it was only once. It's not a big deal."

"When was this?" Minhyuk questions. He sounds weirdly upset.

Kihyun turns to look at him. "Three, four years ago?"

Minhyuk relaxes. "Thank god. I thought you were going to say it was more recent."

Deciding to ignore Minhyuk's slightly odd reaction, Kihyun says, "So, can we move on now?"

Everyone nods, wanting to move on from the slightly weird confession. It's Changkyun's turn next and he doesn't take long to think before he says, "Never have I ever had a crush on someone in this room who I'm not currently dating."

Kihyun throws back another shot, but he’d already admitted to his past crush on Changkyun, so he doesn’t feel embarrassed about it.

What shocks him is that both Hyungwon and Minhyuk also do a shot each too. It obviously shocks everyone else, too, as now all the eyes turn to Minhyuk and Hyungwon.

“Care to explain?” Hoseok asks.

Minhyuk shrugs and refuses to comment so everyone turns to Hyungwon instead.

“What do you want to know?”

Hoseok’s confused face would make a perfect photo if Kihyun had his camera on him right now. “Who was it?”

Hyungwon giggles and his rosy cheeks tell Kihyun that he’s definitely not sober right now. “Kihyun.”

Kihyun’s jaw drops as he stares at Hyungwon. Is he joking? When had Hyungwon had a crush on him? And how hadn’t he known about it? He has so many questions, but he can’t even ask any of them without sounding far too interested. He’s not interested, it doesn’t matter. He’s just curious, is all.

Everyone quickly moves on and the game continues but Kihyun can’t stop thinking about it. He’s not sure why he’s so hung up over Hyungwon having a crush on him in the past. It’s not a big deal. Or, it shouldn’t be a big deal. He had a crush on Changkyun before who’s one of his best friends, so why is Hyungwon’s past crush on him so significant to him?

Kihyun keeps drinking to distract himself and it’s only once they decide to go to bed that he realises just how drunk he is. As soon as he stands he feels the room start spinning and he has to sit back down on the floor.

Hyungwon looks over at him, concerned. “Are you okay?”

Kihyun nods. He manages to stand up but as soon as he tries to take a step he stumbles and would’ve face planted if it weren’t for Minhyuk catching him.

“Someone’s had a bit too much to drink,” Minhyuk jokes.

Kihyun glares, but it doesn’t have the effect he wants due to the fact that Minhyuk is still holding him up.

“Let’s get you to bed.” Minhyuk pulls Kihyun up so he’s standing and tries to walk with him but Kihyun’s putting all of his weight onto Minhyuk so it makes it hard. Hyungwon, noticing Minhyuk struggling, rushes over and puts Kihyun’s free arm over his shoulder to help carry him to bed.

It takes a while but the three of them manage to make it into Kihyun and Minhyuk’s room. Kihyun flops down onto the bed immediately. He hears Hyungwon say goodnight and then the sound of his footsteps getting further away and something in his drunk brain tells him to make Hyungwon stay. So that’s what he does.

“Hyungwon, don’t go.” Kihyun sits up so he can look at Hyungwon and sees him freeze in his tracks. “Stay with us.”

Hyungwon looks to Minhyuk as if asking for permission. Kihyun’s confused as to why he bothers. Minhyuk’s his boyfriend, of course he’d want him to stay. (What Kihyun doesn’t realise is it’s a look of concern, not one asking for permission.)

Minhyuk joins Kihyun in the bed, but Hyungwon still looks hesitant. “Please,” Kihyun whines and if he was sober he’d be embarrassed by how his voice sounded.

Hyungwon gives in and also joins them in bed. As soon as he lays down Kihyun immediately throws an arm over him and cuddles up to him. “Min, join,” he complains after a few moments. He waits and then a hesitant arm wraps around him and Kihyun sighs in content. 

The embarrassment of everything that just happened can wait for the morning.

 

* * *

 

Embarrassed wasn’t enough to explain how Kihyun is feeling. He’s absolutely mortified. Carefully, he slips out from between Hyungwon and Minhyuk and pads into the kitchen. Unsurprisingly, his head is pounding, so he grabs some painkillers from the cupboard (he’s thankful to his past self for remembering to bring some) and downs an entire glass of water after taking them. He sits himself down at the table with his refilled glass of water and sighs. He rests his forehead on the table – it’s cool and it feels nice – and rests there for some time.

He has no idea how much time has passed when he hears someone else sit down beside him. He rolls his head to the side, not having the energy to lift it up, and sees Hyunwoo sat down next to him. Hyunwoo smiles but doesn’t say anything, obviously sensing Kihyun’s mood, and Kihyun does his best to smile back.

They sit in silence, a comfortable silence, with Kihyun slouched over the table and Hyunwoo slowly drinking his tea. After a while, Kihyun decides to speak up. “I always manage to embarrass myself.” There’s something about Hyunwoo that makes Kihyun want to tell him everything because he knows that the other man will listen and provide him with the advice he needs, but he can’t. Only himself, Minhyuk and Hyungwon are the ones who know about the fake relationship and he needs to keep it that way, but part of him wants to spill his guts to Hyunwoo and talk about all his weird feelings he’s experiencing.

“What have you done that’s embarrassing?” Hyunwoo asks, pulling Kihyun from his thoughts.

Kihyun shrugs. “I’m just generally an embarrassment.”

Hyunwoo hums but doesn’t reply. The two of them go back to a comfortable silence for a while.

A very hungover Jooheon comes stumbling into the kitchen muttering something about water. He gulps down two glasses before joining the two of them at the table. He doesn’t say anything, just lays his head down on the table in a similar fashion to Kihyun. It’s quiet for a while and Kihyun watches Jooheon carefully waiting to see if he’s going to say anything or fall asleep. It takes a few minutes, but then the light snores start. Quietly, Kihyun refills Jooheon’s glass with water and also grabs some painkillers and puts them down on the table in front of the sleeping boy. “Make him take those when he wakes up,” he whispers to Hyunwoo who nods. 

Satisfied that he’s sorted Jooheon out, Kihyun heads into the living room and flops down onto the sofa to take a nap, ignoring the fact that he didn’t wake up that long ago.

 

* * *

 

Kihyun scrunches his nose as he comes to. He’s sure he felt something on his nose, but he has no idea what. He lays still, waiting to see what will happen, and sure enough he feels someone tap his nose and then whisper “boop” before bursting into a fit of giggles. He snaps his eyes open only to come face to face with a grinning Minhyuk. “What are you doing?” he grumbles.

“Booping your nose.”

Kihyun is too hungover to understand what’s going on. “Why are you doing that?”

“You looked cute when you were sleeping I had to.”

If he were awake enough to register Minhyuk’s words, Kihyun would probably blush, but he’s seconds away from falling asleep again.

Minhyuk pokes him again. “Wake up, sleepyhead. We’re going on a picnic.”

Kihyun groans and forces himself to sit up. He rubs his eyes and looks at Minhyuk, seeing that he’s squatting in front of the sofa. He notes that there’s no one else in the room and a lack of noise in the cabin. “Where’s everyone else?”

“Hyunwoo and Hoseok went on a hike. Changkyun emerged from his room wrapped up in a duvet to grab some crisps and then went back in there. Jooheon was asleep on the kitchen table last time I saw him.”

“What about Hyungwon?” Kihyun asks since Minhyuk hadn’t mentioned his whereabouts.

Minhyuk’s about to reply when the front door swings open and Hyungwon comes strolling in, holding a bag in either hand. “I have the food,” he announces. “Oh, hey, Ki. How are you feeling?”

“Kinda dead.”

Hyungwon hums as he puts the bags on the table and sits down next to Kihyun on the sofa, but not before giving Minhyuk (who’s now stood up from his place on the floor) a kiss on the cheek as he walks past. “You had a lot to drink last night.”

Kihyun groans and throws his head back. “Don’t remind me. I don’t even want to think about how embarrassing I was being.”

“Embarrassing?” Minhyuk asks, a genuine tone of confusion in his voice. “When were you embarrassing?”

Kihyun opts not to reply, instead staring straight up at the ceiling as he feels the heat rise to his cheeks.

“If you mean when we went to bed you weren’t being embarrassing,” Hyungwon comments. He places a hand on Kihyun’s knee in comfort, but all it does is further Kihyun’s embarrassment. He turns his head to look away, his face on fire. “You were being cute.”

Kihyun coughs, loud.

“Please don’t be embarrassed.” Minhyuk walks into Kihyun’s field of vision and taps him on the nose again. “Cute.”

Kihyun scrunches his nose up and sticks his tongue out. “I am not cute.”

“Yes, you are,” Hyungwon jumps in.

Overwhelmed with all the attention being on him, Kihyun stands up and stretches. “So, that picnic you mentioned?”

Hyungwon stands up from the sofa too and takes the bags from the table. “I have enough food for the three of us from that restaurant nearby. We might as well just go out the back in the field.”

“Sounds good.”

“You two go ahead,” Minhyuk says. “I’ll go grab us something to sit on and some cutlery.” He leaves the room through the kitchen door. 

Kihyun turns his attention back to Hyungwon. “Lead the way.”

 

* * *

 

Minhyuk joins Hyungwon and Kihyun after they finally settle on a spot to sit at. Hyungwon wanted to sit in the shade but Kihyun wanted to sit in the sun so they had to compromise and find a place where both of them could get what they wanted. They settled on sitting near a tree, which allowed Hyungwon the shade he wanted without there being a complete lack of sun.

They lay out their picnic blanket and spread out the food in the centre. Minhyuk dishes out the bowls and chopsticks between them and they all dig into their food.

For a while there isn’t much talking, everyone too focused on eating their food, the occasional noises of enjoyment slipping out of one of them.

Kihyun’s about to eat another mouthful of rice when Minhyuk says, “I love spending time with you guys.”

“Well, I’d hope so, considering we’re dating.”

Kihyun stifles a laugh.

“Shut up, Chae. I’ll find a new boyfriend. Don’t test me.”

Hyungwon rolls his eyes. “You went from soft to threatening in a matter of seconds.”

Kihyun just shovels rice into his mouth as he listens to them bicker. He’s comfortable with his friends, of course, and he enjoys spending time with them, but he’s been hit with the overwhelming feeling of being the odd one out. Of interrupting their date.

Realistically, Kihyun knows that he’s not interrupting anything and they do want him here. They’ve all been friends since long before Minhyuk and Hyungwon started dating, but there’s that nagging thought at the back of his head that he should really be letting them have some time alone.

He’s been taking up most of Minhyuk’s time with the whole fake dating thing, and he doesn’t want to steal Hyungwon’s boyfriend away from him. Sure, they spend time together as the three of them and also in their larger friend group, but Kihyun worries that he’s being selfish and preventing them from truly having some time as just the two of them.  

At some point, he must zone out, because suddenly there’s a hand waving in his face and Minhyuk is calling his name.

“Huh? What did I miss?”

Minhyuk tuts. “I was just checking you were still with us. You seemed really out of it just then.” He looks concerned and Kihyun feels a little guilty.

“I’m fine, don’t worry.”

“Are you sure?” Hyungwon asks. He also looks worried and it doubles Kihyun’s guilt. “You’re not still worrying about being embarrassing or something, are you?”

Opting not to reply verbally, Kihyun shakes his head and eats another mouthful of rice.

“We care about you, Ki. We just want to know you’re okay.” Minhyuk places a hand on the small of Kihyun’s back. It’s comforting.

“I appreciate that you guys care, but I promise I’m fine. Just hungover.” He gives a reassuring smile to both of his friends, hoping that’ll ease their worries.

Minhyuk looks reluctant to take Kihyun’s answer, but ultimately decides not to say anything. Kihyun is glad he decides to give up because he doesn’t want to voice his thoughts, worried about further being selfish and taking too much of their time and energy to himself. 

He stays quiet through the rest of their lunch, choosing to eat his food and ignore the concerned glances that get directed his way.

 

* * *

 

Kihyun is, to put it simply, avoiding all of his friend. He’s holed up in his room, attempting to read a book, but he keeps reading the same paragraph over and over again and he’s taking none of it in. He can hear everyone having fun, playing Mario Kart by the sounds of it, and he so badly wants to join them, but he can’t bring himself to go out there.

With an irritated sigh, he throws his book down on the bed. He just can’t focus, even though he wants to.

Kihyun rubs his eyes, realising how tired he is. He’s about to lay down and take a nap when there’s a knock on the door. “Come in!” he calls.

The door swings open to reveal Hyungwon who slips in, shuts the door behind him and joins Kihyun on the bed. “So,” he says, looking pointedly at Kihyun.

“So,” Kihyun mimics.

Neither speak for a while, just staring at one another in silence. It’s making Kihyun start to feel anxious, so he breaks it. “I was just about to have a nap, so did you need actually something?” He knows he’s being slightly rude, but he also knows why Hyungwon has come in and he doesn’t want to talk about it right now.

“What’s really wrong?”

Kihyun sighs. He knew that was coming. “I know you care and just want to help, but it’s really nothing.”

“We came here to spend time together and you’re hiding away in your room after acting weird earlier. Even Changkyun managed to drag his hungover ass out of bed and join us.”

Kihyun looks away. He wants to tell Hyungwon what he’s thinking, but he doesn’t want to make anything worse. He chooses to stay silent.

“Come on, Ki. Talk to me,” Hyungwon pleads.

Kihyun continues to stare at the wall. He can feel his eyes start to get teary, but he does his best to will it away.

There’s movement from the other side of the bed, so Kihyun finally turns to see Hyungwon getting up to leave.

“Come find me when you want to tell me, okay?” He moves to the door to leave.

As Hyungwon puts his hand on the handle, Kihyun finally gives in. “I’m worried about ruining your relationship with Minhyuk,” he admits in a small voice.

Hyungwon turns back and rejoins Kihyun on the bed but sits closer to him this time. “Why do you think you’d be doing that?”

Kihyun shrugs. “I take up all of Minhyuk’s time now. The two of you barely get to spend time together and on the rare occasions you do now I’m always there. You deserve some alone time without my presence always being there.”

“Look at me,” Hyungwon says.

Kihyun didn’t even realise he’d be staring, hard, at one spot on the bed. He looks up at Hyungwon who has a serious look in his eyes.

“We _like_ spending time with you. If we didn’t want you to come with us, we wouldn’t invite you. You’re not taking Minhyuk away from me at all. I’m content spending time with both you and Minhyuk, and it doesn’t mean you’re taking Minhyuk away from me because I want you to be there, too, and I know Minhyuk agrees. So, please believe me when I tell you that you’re not taking Minhyuk away from me and you’re definitely not ruining our relationship.”

Kihyun feels a few stray tears roll down his face, but he wipes them away with the back of his hand. “Thank you, Hyungwon. Truly.”

Hyungwon smiles at him and reaches over to give Kihyun a hug. 

When he pulls away he says, “So, how about you come outside with me so I can kick your ass at Mario Kart?”

 

* * *

 

As fun as being at the cabin with his friends is, it’s also exhausting. Kihyun loves his friends, he really does, but they’ve been doing stuff non-stop since they arrived and he kinda just wants to sleep.

Currently, he’s got his head in Minhyuk’s lap and his feet in Hyunwoo’s while they watch some TV. He keeps feeling his eyes slip closed, but he forces himself to keep them open.

“You seem tired,” Hyunwoo comments. “Take a nap if you want.”

Kihyun doesn’t even get a chance to reply and deny it before he yawns loudly.

Hyunwoo laughs and smiles at him, encouraging him to just take a nap, but Kihyun feels like he should stay awake.

He stubbornly keeps his eyes open, trying to focus on the TV. Then, he feels a gentle tug on his hair and realises Minhyuk’s carding his fingers through his hair. It’s slow. Comforting. He can feel that it’s making him sleepier, but he tries his best to keep his eyes open.

His eyes finally slip closed, but he doesn’t fall asleep completely. He’s in that weird between awake and asleep stage. He’s vaguely aware of the fingers in his hair and the sound of the TV, but he’s so close to sleep that it doesn’t bother him.

At one point he feels his legs lift, but it’s not enough to pull him away from his half sleeping state.

The fingers never leave his hair, either.

When he finally wakes back up, it’s darker outside and the TV is turned off. There’s still a hand tangled in his hair, but it’s no longer moving.

Trying to move as little as possible, he looks up at Minhyuk to see that his eyes are closed and his mouth is hanging open. Kihyun smiles.

There’s the sound of someone shuffling into the room and then Hyungwon appears in Kihyun’s line of sight. He’s carrying three mugs of what Kihyun can only assume is tea. Hyungwon places the mugs carefully onto the coffee table, only noticing that Kihyun is awake once he flops down into the armchair. “You slept for a while.” He speaks softly, quietly, in order to not wake Minhyuk up.

“It was that weird half-asleep half-awake sort of thing for most of it.”

The grip on his hair tightens before loosening again. Kihyun looks up again to see Minhyuk blinking his eyes open and looking around the room.

“I don’t even remember falling asleep,” he mutters, his voice still laced with sleep.

Taking his own mug from the table, Hyungwon says, “You didn’t sleep for too long. I made both of you some tea.”

Minhyuk hums in appreciation as Hyungwon hands his mug over to him to prevent Kihyun from having to move. Kihyun is more than thankful. He’s very comfortable using Minhyuk as his own personal pillow.

It’s quiet for a while, only the distant sound of Changkyun and Jooheon occasionally yelling at what Kihyun suspects is a game disrupting them. It’s a comfortable silence despite the background noise.

“I’m really glad we decided to come on this trip,” Minhyuk says. “It’s nice to spend time with my two favourite people outside of our dorm for once.”

Kihyun hums. He rolls around so he’s able to look straight up at Minhyuk. “Favourite people, huh?”

Minhyuk rolls his eyes. “You already know you’re my favourite, dumbass. I don’t need to say it.”

“Mm, I know, but I like hearing you say it.”

There’s a very unsubtle cough from the armchair, so Kihyun rolls back over to see Hyungwon pouting. “What about me?” 

Kihyun stage whispers, “Don’t tell Minhyuk but you’re my favourite.” It’s worth the smack over the head he gets from Minhyuk to see Hyungwon’s smile.

 

* * *

 

It’s the middle of the night when the revelation hits Kihyun. He’d come out to get a glass of water after waking up thirsty, but it had woken him up too much to go back to bed. He’s sitting at the kitchen table, sipping on his glass of water when he realises that _shit_ , he has feelings for his two best friends.

It’s not like it’s completely a shock, he’s felt his feelings developing more and more as time has gone on, but he’s been pushing it down as deep as possible, not wanting to admit it to himself.

Sitting in the kitchen alone late at night, though, he can’t deny it anymore.

It’s strange having the revelation, because although he does feel the slightest bit panicked, mostly he just feels strangely calm. He already feels like he’s accepted it for what it is.

Kihyun’s deep in thought when he hears the door open. He looks over to see Hyunwoo walking in, who in turn looks shocked to see Kihyun awake. “Hey, Kihyun. What are you doing up?”

Kihyun shrugs. “Couldn’t sleep. Started overthinking.”

Hyunwoo sits down on the opposite side of the table with his own glass of water. “Something you want to talk about?”

Kihyun knows he shouldn’t tell Hyunwoo if he doesn’t want to admit that him and Minhyuk worked together to basically scam Changkyun and Jooheon out of money and expose Minhyuk and Hyungwon’s relationship, but there’s just something about the way Hyunwoo’s looking at him that makes Kihyun want to spill it all.

So, he does. He tells Hyunwoo everything from the start, ending with his realisation of his feelings.

Somehow, Hyunwoo keeps a straight face through Kihyun’s entire story, and doesn’t comment or interrupt. When Kihyun finishes, he takes a moment before speaking up, choosing his words carefully. “I did think there was something going on with Hyungwon and the two of you, but I didn’t expect it to be something like this. If you want an outsider’s point of view, you and Minhyuk are very convincing, almost too convincing, to the point I find it hard to believe all of that could be fake.” He pauses to take gulp down the rest of his water. “If you really feel that strongly about them, which to me I think you obviously do, you should tell them. They’re your best friends, after all, and I know they’ll be understanding even if, for some reason, they don’t feel the same way.”

“You really think I’d have a chance?”

Hyunwoo nods. “They seem to care about you the same way you care about them.” 

Kihyun does his best to smile in thanks. He really is thankful for Hyunwoo talking to him and being so understanding, but he can feel himself slipping back into his overthinking, and it’s hard to focus on much else. “Thank you. I think I’m going to go to sleep now.” He gets up and as he reaches the door he turns back and says, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Kihyun. Don’t overthink it too much. It’ll all work out just fine.”

 

* * *

 

The final day at the cabin is a sad one. Even though they’d only spent a week at the cabin, it had a really good time and Kihyun knows he’s going to miss it. He knows that it won’t change much going back to university, he’s still going to be roommates with Minhyuk and Hyungwon after all. He’ll still see the rest of his friends on most days. There’s just something about them being at the cabin and being able to relax and not think about essays and deadlines for once that Kihyun’s going to miss.

Kihyun’s packing away his clothes (and Minhyuk’s clothes, because he knows Minhyuk won’t do it himself) when Hyungwon walks in. “You excited to be going back to uni?”

“Not really,” Kihyun admits. He stops folding clothes to sit down on the bed and pats the spot next to him, urging Hyungwon to sit down too.

Hyungwon obliges and joins Kihyun. “Me neither. I’m going to miss this.”

“Going to miss not having a room to yourself anymore?” Kihyun jokes.

“I’ve slept in this room for most of the trip.” He’s not lying, either. He had spent most of the nights sharing the bed with Minhyuk and Kihyun. Kihyun’s almost shocked that none of their friends pointed it out.

Kihyun leans back, letting himself flop onto the bed. “I feel like as soon as we go back to uni it’s all going to change,” Kihyun says quietly.

Hyungwon turns to look at Kihyun where he’s laying down, his eyebrows scrunched together. “What would change?”

“I don’t know.” Kihyun shuts his eyes, feeling exhausted all of a sudden. “I’m really tired.”

Hyungwon stands up and stretches. “I’ll finish packing. You should rest.”

Though Kihyun wants to disagree and tell Hyungwon not to do it, he doesn’t have the energy to actually finish packing, so he lets Hyungwon do it.

It doesn’t take Hyungwon long to finish packing, Kihyun had finished most of it before he came in, and then he throws himself onto the bed next to Kihyun and rolls over so he’s half on top of him. “You’re comfy,” Hyungwon mumbles.

They stay like that for a while, both of them dozing off when the door flies open and Minhyuk comes running in, Changkyun not far behind him. Minhyuk jumps up on the bed, narrowly missing standing on Kihyun’s head, and holds something black high up in the air.

Changkyun narrows his eyes at Minhyuk but doesn’t climb onto the bed. Kihyun’s grateful for his decision.

“What are you doing?” Kihyun mutters, his brain not functioning well enough to understand the situation.

“Minhyuk has my phone,” Changkyun complains.

Hyungwon yawns loudly before asking, “Why does he have your phone?”

“Because he’s a meanie.” Changkyun is whining, while he glares up at Minhyuk.

Kihyun, honestly, doesn’t want to deal with them arguing over Changkyun’s phone. He was content sleeping with Hyungwon, only for them to come and ruin it. “Minhyuk, give Changkyun his phone back and come here,” he demands.

“Yes, sir!” Minhyuk jumps down from the bed and hands Changkyun back his phone. Without a warning, he throws himself onto Kihyun and Hyungwon.

Kihyun can see Changkyun’s debating doing the same, so he says, “You have your own boyfriend to cuddle. Go away.” 

Changkyun pouts as he leaves.

 

* * *

 

They end up leaving late to drive back to university. Jooheon’s favourite hoodie went missing and they all had to hunt around the entire cabin in order to find it, meaning they ended up leaving hours after they planned. In the end, his hoodie had been in Changkyun’s suitcase, and it took all of Kihyun’s self-control not to kill the two of them.

It’s half an hour into the drive when Minhyuk complains he’s hungry.

“We’re all hungry, Min,” Kihyun says. The combination of his exhaustion, annoyance at Jooheon and Changkyun for holding them up, and his sadness about having to go back to university has put Kihyun in a bad mood, and he really doesn’t want to deal with complaining.

“I’m so hungry, though,” Minhyuk whines.

Kihyun massages his temples and wills himself not to say anything.

“Can we get food?”

“We can when we’re back,” Hyungwon replies.

“But I want food now.”

Unable to stop himself, Kihyun finally speaks. “Minhyuk, I really love you, but please shut up.” 

It works. Minhyuk does shut up. It’s awkward now, though. Minhyuk has his mouth closed tight, like he’s forcing himself to keep it closed, and Hyungwon isn’t saying anything, just focusing on the road ahead. Kihyun just feels like crying.

 

* * *

 

The awkward silence seems to stretch on forever. Kihyun’s fidgeting in his seat, and he can see Hyungwon looking at him out of the corner of his eye. It’s not helping, only serving to make him feel even antsier.

Kihyun can see Minhyuk’s reflection in the wing mirror. He’s gnawing on his bottom lip. It makes Kihyun feel guiltier.

He wants to say something, apologise, make it better, but he just doesn’t really know what to say. He tries to think of the best way to apologise, but everything he thinks of falls flat. He shouldn’t have spoken to Minhyuk that way, he knows that, but he can’t change his actions and he doesn’t know how to fix it.

He shuffles around in his seat some more. The best way to start is to just say sorry. He can do that. So, Kihyun opens his mouth to apologise.

“I have feelings for both of you,” he blurts.

It’s not what he intended to say. Nowhere close, in fact.

Kihyun stares out of the window, almost glaring. His face is burning and he doesn’t want to look at his friends right now to see their reactions.

Only Kihyun would manage to accidentally confess while stuck in a car for who knows how much longer.

It’s been a minute, maybe more, Kihyun can’t even tell at this point and neither Minhyuk nor Hyungwon have spoken. Kihyun has no idea what they could be thinking right now, but he imagines it’s nothing good by the lack of reply.

The silence gets too much, so Kihyun says, “Can we please pull over? I’m going to ask one of the others to swap and I’ll go in Hyunwoo’s car.”

He’s still not looking at either of them, stubbornly keeping his gaze out of the window.

“Kihyun…” Minhyuk says softly, his voice barely above a whisper.

“It’s okay, Min. I don’t want to hear it right now.” Kihyun finally tears his gaze away from outside and looks over to Hyungwon. “Pull over. _Please._ ”

Hyungwon doesn’t acknowledge that he’s said anything, simply keeps his gaze forward and focused on the road.

“Kihyun,” Minhyuk says more forcefully.

Kihyun turns around in his seat as best he can to look at Minhyuk. “Please. Don’t do this right now. I shouldn’t have said anything.” He’s practically begging at this point. He doesn’t want to be hurt.

“It’s mutual, you idiot.”

“Oh,” Kihyun breathes softly. That was unexpected to say the least.

Minhyuk doesn’t speak again, so Kihyun turns back to the front. He doesn’t really know what to take from the conversation so far.

“We talked about it the other day,” Hyungwon finally speaks up. He’s not looking at Kihyun, not that he could since he’s driving, but Kihyun wishes he were. “I brought it up to Minhyuk, how I felt like there was something between the three of us, and he agreed. We were going to talk to you about it when we got back.”

It’s hard for Kihyun to process. He almost can’t believe that his feelings are returned. It seems unreal. “So, what now?” he asks.

“Yoo Kihyun,” Hyungwon says, glancing over at him, “will you be our boyfriend?”

Kihyun hums, like he’s having to think about it.

“Just say yes,” Minhyuk whines. 

Kihyun grins, and finally says what he’s been wishing he could. “Yes, I’ll be your boyfriend.”

 

* * *

 

(Years later, at Changkyun and Jooheon’s wedding, Kihyun finally admits to the both of them about scamming them out of money and how him and Minhyuk hadn’t been dating at the time.

Changkyun is rightfully outraged, demanding they return his money.

Kihyun had already got that covered, the $150 being his wedding present to the two of them. In pennies, of course.)

**Author's Note:**

> kudos & comments appreciated!
> 
> twitter: [@changkihyks](http://twitter.com/changkihyks/)


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